We live in the SF Bay Area but my wife has ties to Toledo/Northwest Ohio.  

., considering you are in a C class neighborhood and your hands are tied with regulations why not go section 8. 

Since my goal/most likely outcome would be to end up in Greenville, SC I could also explore the option of buying property out of state while living in New Orleans.Considering that I’ve just begun learning about real estate investing, know absolutely nothing about the New Orleans area (from looking through other forum posts, it sounds like a difficult area for a beginner investor), and I’d need to make a decision fairly quickly - what would you do in my shoes?

Your passion for the STR will directly tie back to the experience you provide your guests, which will dictate your reviews which will end up dictating your occupancy rate which will lead to your true revenue.  

Every deal is different and they may have Title ties which would need to be broken up. 

Their clothes, shoes, gloves get diesel fuel and its precursors all over them. 

There's no better way to learn than from someone who has already been in your shoes.

Yes, it tied up cash that I could now use more effectively.

In your shoes, based on the info supplied, if they both do business law, that's likely enough for the business structure parts you're looking for and likely either will do the job.

I was actually in your shoes just about one year ago and purchased my first duplex in March in GR.